Apple and peach field day set for July 31 in Mills River

The latest N.C. State University research into apple and peach production will be highlighted during a field day July 31 at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station in Mills River.

Registration takes place at 12:30 p.m. and includes a peach sampling of North Carolina-developed cultivars and advanced selections. Field tours will cover a wide range of orchard management topics such as disease, insect, nutrition and weed management; chemical thinning; and rootstocks and management systems. There will also be an overview of new apple selections, Asian pears and European pears for North Carolina.

Events conclude at 5:30 p.m.

The field day is sponsored by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service and the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service at N.C. State, along with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

For information, contact Dr. Mike Parker, associate professor of horticultural science at N.C. State, at mike_parker@ncsu.edu or 919-515-1198. Information about the research station, including a map and directions, is available online at http://www.ncagr.gov/research/mhcrs.htm.

-D. Shore, 919.513.3117 or dee_shore@ncsu.edu